Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world (followed by Spanish, and then English), with over 1 billion speakers in Mainland China alone. Many experts say that China will likely be the biggest economy in the world this century, and because of this, many parents and schools are encouraging their children to learn Chinese. In fact, Mandarin language programs in US schools have increased by 100% in the last 2 years, according to “Asia Society.” The US Department of Defense has classified Mandarin as a “critical foreign language” and in 2007-2008 put about $10 million into Chinese-language programs, from grade schools through colleges (see this article in USA Today). The largest Chinese program in the US, the Chicago Public Schools, started teaching Mandarin in 1999 and now has 8000 students studying the language, in 30+ schools (with 30 more schools on a waiting list to begin).
What if you are not a native speaker, and your school does not have a Mandarin program? This is the case at our house- and yet we are very interested in our children learning Chinese. Here are some ideas and resources for introducing your children to Mandarin.
Introduction and Incorporating Geography
Begin your language learning journey by hanging a world map at eye-level for your child. Show them where China is, and teach them to locate it and Asia on the map- the outline of China looks like a rooster (a profile with its head to the right). Point out the landforms (the mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, the Gobi Desert, Turpan Basin, Yangtze River), where the Great Wall runs through the north, and which countries and bodies of water border the country.
Look for a Class Near You
There are private language academies in many cities and towns that offer Mandarin class for kids (google languages classes + your hometown). We have taken a couple of these classes, and they are very fun, spoken only in Mandarin, taught my native speakers, and include a lot of songs. The disadvantage here is that they are usually very expensive. When you have 4 kids, like we do, this option is quite cost-prohibitive.
Photo credit: Becky Morales
Another option is to look for a “Chinese school.” In many, many towns and cities, the Chinese community has set up a weekend school to ensure that their children are learning Chinese. We have found and chosen this option in 2 different states (in the US) and have enjoyed having our children learn “Chinese as a Second Language.” The slight disadvantage of this option is that many times the kids in their classes actually speak some Chinese because their parents speak it at home; because of this, the lessons sometimes move quickly. However, our solution is just to have our kids repeat year 1, and the second time through they “got it” much faster. If you cannot find one in your town, look to the nearest “Chinatown.”
Finally, if none of these options work, another option is to look for someone in your community who is a native speaker, who might be willing to tutor your kids for an hour a week, at least to start them on the right path. Our friends have hired a high school student to come once a week for a reasonable price and help their child do their Chinese homework from their Saturday school. It turned out that this young girl also liked to babysit, so now they do their weekly tutoring while mom and dad go out for dinner- not a bad deal for anyone!:)
The following resources that I list below are materials that I have personally used (except the few exceptions that I explain below). I have not been paid by anyone, nor been given free copies to review- these are my personal opinions of products that I have chosen to use with my children.
Listen to Chinese Songs & Rhymes
I love the Speak & Sing Chinese w/Mei Mei
Another CD that we play in the background of our car is Baby’s First Words in Chinese
We also listen to Chinese songs and rhymes on-line.
Watch DVDs (or Youtube!)
Fortunately we have always lived in an area with a well-stocked library. Because of this, we have taken out and seen numerous DVDs that teach Mandarin vocabulary. If you do not have access do these DVDs, watch these clips to learn Chinese from youtube. Note: I have seen DVDs promise to “teach” Chinese- note that your child will not become bilingual, or even a proficient communicator from only watching DVDs. That being said, I have experienced that my kids really improve their vocabulary, and sometimes even their pronunciation, by listening and watching these educational DVDs. Also, if you limit TV and screen time like I do, my kids are so excited to watch anything on TV they sit mesmerized and hang on every word. The following are videos we have personally seen- though there are many more out there to preview with your children:
Chinese for Kids: Learn Chinese (animated); there are 2 levels, including different lessons with useful vocabulary and phrases. Watch a sample clip here.
Bao Bei the Panda; a little cheesey, Bao Bei the puppet teaches Mandarin; mixed with English. Watch a sample clip here.
Follow Jade: Learn Chinese: Let’s Go to Market in China; the teacher, Jade, teaches different lessons using real props. Watch a sample clip here.
The last DVD is Little Pim Chinese. This is the only DVD I am mentioning that I have not personally used with my children (though I have asked my library to purchase it for their collection!). However I am including it because I have friends who tell me that their children absolutely love this little panda, the music is gentle and catchy, and they would recommend it above all other DVDs. Sounds like I need to try it:). Watch a sample clip here.
Learn the Tones
Watch this short video to hear the different tones in Chinese. Then play this on-line game from the BBC to practice these tones.
Get an App and Play on the Go
If you are lucky enough to have a smart phone, there are so many different apps!
Kids Mandarin: a free App to practice vocabulary for kids, hugely popular in Asia
LinguPinguin: is another cute and free one for the youngest learners
Learn Chinese by Mindsnacks: games that use new vocab
Chinese Flashcards: are a great way to review vocabulary (even fore adults)
The Chungaboo Language Series features several languages and offers great practice
Play On-line Games
PBSkids has kids match Chinese characters to pictures of their meanings.
The BBC language learning site has lots of on-line activities for kids (and adults!).
Language Guide is a great web site, with lists of vocabulary in Mandarin. When you roll your mouse over the word (or number) it pronounces it for you and shows you the pinyin and the Chinese characters. Many, many of my kids’ vocabulary words are on here, which helps us figure out how to pronounce them.
Read Books that Show Chinese Characters
Chinese is a “character-based language,” so originally the words usually had some graphical basis in the items or ideas they represent. The first 3 books I list here embed Chinese characters into the story and illustrations.
Liu and the Bird: A Journey in Chinese Calligraphy
by Catherine Louis, Feng Xiao Min, and translated by Sibylle Kazeroid. The beautiful illustrations help to tell the story of a young girl going to visit her grandfather- with a lot of Chinese characters built into the journey. We liked being able to see how the characters evolved, many times resembling the word they represent.
The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters
In the Leaves
My Little Book of Chinese Words by Catherine Louis (Illustrator), Shi Bo (Illustrator), and translated by MaryChris Bradley. This compact, beautifully illustrated book is like a bound set of flashcards. Each page has one word, with its written Chinese character. I was surprised (and delighted) one day when my 6 year old son and his friend spent their whole playdate copying characters out of this book into a notebook! His mom later asked me if I was teaching them Chinese, and unfortunately I had to admit that I had nothing to do with their creative project.
The last resource I do not personally own. I do have a friend who swears by these flashcards, and I am thinking of getting them for my kids now that they are learning how to read. The
Tuttle Chinese for Kids Flash Cards Kit comes with an audio CD to help with pronunciation. This mom of 2 says that her children enjoy the cards, and have learned some characters with them.
For the Parents
The Office of Chinese Language Council International, called Hanban (literally “Chinese Office”), is in charge of promoting Chinese worldwide by creating textbooks and materials for all ages, training teachers and setting up Confucius Institutes. There are about 100 Confucius Institutes around the world, which promote Chinese language, literature and culture. They can help point you in the right direction for resources in your region.
The most popular language learning programs for adults are the following:
The Pimsleur Program
Rosetta Stone
Podcasts to learn Chinese
I have only tried the podcasts, which I honestly enjoyed! The topics are really interesting, and include cultural aspects as well as language.
Finally, here is an on-line dictionary that will translate anything from English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, and Catalan into Mandarin, and give the pinyin, Chinese characters, and pronunciation.
HAVE FUN and don’t get frustrated. With practice, kids will begin to pick up the words and sounds of their new language- and one day they will surprise you. If you have a favorite resource that I have missed, please leave it in the comment section- we are always looking for new materials at our house!
Chinese New Year Math and Literacy! PreK-1
Want to introduce your PreK through 1st grade students to Chinese New Year? Our Chinese New Year Math and Literacy Unit is one resource you don’t want to miss! Available at the Kid World Citizen Teachers Pay Teachers Store, this unit is an incredible collection of Common Core aligned reading, writing, math, and critical thinking activities, as well as craftivities and coloring sheets. Go now! >
Chinese New Year Math and ELA Unit, Grades 1-3
We also have created a math and ELA unit for grades 1-3 to teach about Chinese New Year. Also Common-Core aligned, this unit includes fantastic resources and lessons such as word problems, a scramble, a greater than/less than activity, vocabulary cards, a graphing activity, a maze, coloring sheets, and more!
Check it out at our TPT store now >
Great collection!
I wonder, did you come across any children’s beginner’s resource that does NOT use English (a mandarin-only for beginners)? My kids don’t speak English but want to learn mandarin.
How fantastic that you want your kids to learn Mandarin:). I finally was able to go through the resources, and found several that do not include English. The second CD I listed (Baby’s First Words in Chinese) does not have English- it is only speaking and music in Chinese. Also, the next link about listening to Chinese rhymes and songs on-line is only in Mandarin. For the DVD’s, Little Pim would be great for you (and there are many clips on youtube if you want to preview or use directly from your computer). The Chinese Tone Game from the BBC is only listening practice (more for older kids), and they do not need to speak English to play. Also, the PBS game (although it has the English word) uses pictures to match with the characters, so that would be appropriate. This is the case for the free apps as well- there are English words, but the games/flashcards are picture-based, so your kids could use the pictures to learn the vocabulary. I hope that this helps! What language do your children speak? I bet the Asia Society could help you locate additional resources- they are located around the world, and are very interested in promoting Asian languages:).
Thank you! We are stepping into the Chinese Immersion world next year, and I am a little nervous, but super, super excited! Thanks for some great resources!
Oh, that is so cool!! Is it at school?
Thank you for this wonderful list of resources! We just started the process of an international adoption via China. My 4 year old biological son has expressed some nervousness about his new sister not being able to speak English. I think I will use these resources to help him learn some Chinese words. This will hopefully help everyone’s transition!
Congratulations!:) How old will your daughter be at arrival? My son was almost 4 (from China) and my other son was 3 (from Ethiopia). The great thing is that they learned English really quickly because they were so young. We also speak Spanish at home, and they also learned Spanish! I think if you guys learn some words in Chinese, she would feel that much more comfortable! We learned hug, kiss, I love you, potty (SO IMPORTANT!:), eat, come, don’t run, don’t hit (hehe, we learned those because our guide would repeat them constantly to the group of boys in our group:), mom, dad, brother, sister. Also my favorite saying was one that the guide used 1000 times a day: “hao bu hao?” literally meaning “good no good?” but really it was just asking if something was ok. So if we gave them food, she would ask “hao bu hao?” and the child would answer either “hao” (good) or bu hao (bad). We used to say that for everything:). Good luck and keep in touch!:)
Wow! Thank you so much! We just turned in our applications, and are starting the home study process and then the wait for a referral will begin. I’m sure we’ll have lots of time to learn! We listed on our application that we are open to a girl between the ages of 0-4 years. Also, since the current wait time is 6 years for a child from China, we choose to accept a special needs child. (Oddly enough- special needs can simply mean over the age if 3!)The wait time for special needs can be as short as 12-18 months after application. Obviously, we’re hoping for a shorter wait! Thanks again for your tips! I took a group of my students to China about 6 years ago and all I can remember is Ni Hou!! Time to get studying!!
How exciting! We also went the SN route!:)
As I type this, we are hosting an exchange student from Taiwan, and she is attempting to teach us some words in Chinese. I love learning about my son’s culture and heritage language. Good luck in your journey!